Traquair House Ale

Brewed by Traquair House
Style: Scotch Ale
Innerleithen, Borders, Scotland

Serve in Thistle

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Dark orange and almost smokey looking in the glass, with very little head. The nose was of smoked fruit & peat. No hint of alcohol burn and a very pleasant, yet mild hops aftertaste. I have found my favorite Scotch ale. Delicious.

Excellent. Surprisingly little aroma, this beautiful, dark, brown specimen lends itself into a delicate yet complex rich flavor with a surprisingly huge palate that leaves almost no residual sweetness behind A masterpiece. Some burnt toffee notes in the background, but this seems to be exclusively from kettle carmelization and not from the malt. Pale malt flavors predominate and are exactly what this beer needs to present. Very clean. A masterpiece (oh wait ... I already said that).

Translucent mahogany with a dense beige head. Creamy medium-full body with medium carbonation.

Aroma: roasty malt, metallic minerality, woodsy hops, and a touch of chocolate malt acidity.

Taste: rich chocolate malt, woodsy hops, roasty malt, mild minerality, a slight sourness, and subtle charred malt astringency.

Bottle from Slowbeer. Nice and malty. Aromas of caramel, toffee, wine, hint of liquorice. Taste is sweet, with bitter notes, long length. Palate is syrupy, and full bodied. Brown, with a thin head.

I loved this. Roasted/a bit smoky/a bit peaty I didn’t see it in the other reviews but I picked up just a bit of sour tartness that I quite liked. Well done. Serving: Bottle

330ml bottle poured into a tulip with my buddy in Napa, CA. A - Pours a dark brown with ruby highlights and a small head that dissipates fairly quickly. Not a ton of lacing, but it does gives some nice legs with each sip, coating the glass in suds. S - Caramel malts strong on the nose, with molasses notes, and maybe some figs and/or dates. I can taste the alcohol, but it doesn’t feel out of place, and sort of compliments the dark malty profile.An inviting aroma that fits the style well, it warms to reveal some nutty tones, along with toffee and subtle woodsy notes. T - This is a very robust malty flavored beer. A dark caramel malt base is the backbone for a variety of flavorful notes to come through. Dark fruits, (figs and/or dates) and just a touch of black cherries can be identified. Alcohol warmth and a molasses taste give it some hearty weight. Hazelnut and hints of toffee and maple add to the sweeter side, and oak and peat provide some delicious earthy tones. Finishes with just the right amount of alcohol heat, along mild bitterness and cocoa. Truly a well crafted flavor profile, and a damn drinkable beer. M - Smooth and creamy. Low carbonation, with a medium-to-heavy weight to the body. Slight warmth in the finish with mild lingering bitterness. D - A dark, complex, and flavorful beer. As a major fan of the style, I consider this the standard by which all others are measured. DELICIOUS!!! Serving type: bottle

One of my all time faves. for one thing I'm particularly fond of a strong scotch ale, and this one is really well done. not something you drink much of at once, but more of a boutique piece for a special occasion, as last night was!

Very, very good stuff. Nice and dark, extremely malty, warming, thick, and with a slight madeira quality. About as good as an ale can get. My only complaint is, why $5 a bottle? It’s very good, but I feel that I am being taken advantage of when I buy this stuff. It’s like I can see someone at the brewery counting his money and laughing. MacAndrews Scotch (now Stock) Ale is just about as good, and priced more reasonably. I don’t usually complain about a beer’s price, and will gladly pay $5 a bottle for something different, but this beer does not have any special characteristics to justify the steep price. It’s just very good, but there are other very good beers out there. And the bottle isn’t even 12 oz! Rating down two points for being overpriced.

UPDATED: AUG 12, 2012 Rerate, 330 ml cellared bottle, will soon be available at Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Still an excellent beer, I get some differences in aroma and flavour: "old sherry" notes in the aroma are stronger I don’t get any notes of sour cherries this time. The flavour is less roasty (don’t get any coffee) and more sherrylike. Original rating: 330 ml bottle, bought at Selfridge’s, London. Beautiful brown to ruby colour, good beige head. Complex aroma of oak and sandalwood, some pine too, old sherry, leather, pipe tobacco, sour cherries, prunes, hints of smoke . Flavour is woody with a pronounced roastiness, coffee notes, strong tea, hints of bitter chocolate, excellent hoppy bitterness. A truly delightful beer!

Tastes like Oak barrels and smoked planks of wood. Deep rich red/black color. Malty textures with a hint of tannic acid.